Therapeutic Reflexology and Massage Judy Kaski CR LMT

05/17/2021

Today Hank explains your unsung lymphatic system and how it supports cardiovascular function by collecting, filtering, and returning interstitial fluid back ...

05/17/2021

The sign has been described as a ‘curious finding’.

05/08/2021

What Are Fallen Arches?

If you look at an adult foot from the inside, you'll usually notice an upward curve in the middle. This is called an arch. Tendons -- tight bands that attach at the heel and foot bones -- form the arch. Several tendons in your foot and lower leg work together to form the arches in your foot.

When the tendons all pull the proper amount, then your foot forms a moderate, normal arch. When tendons do not pull together properly, there is little or no arch. This is called flat foot or fallen arch.

Test Yourself for Flat Feet

You can easily test yourself to see if you might have fallen arches or flat feet. Follow these three steps:

Get your feet wet.

Stand on a flat surface where your footprint will show, such as on a concrete walkway.

Step away and look at the prints. If you see complete imprints of the bottom of your feet on the surface, then you're likely to have flat feet.

Many young children have flat feet, a condition referred to as flexible flat feet. When the child stands, the feet look flat.

But when the child rises to his or her toes, a slight arch appears. In most cases, as children grow older, the arches develop.

Causes of Flat Feet and Fallen Arches

Flat feet in adults can arise from a variety of causes. Here are the most common:

An abnormality that is present from birth

Stretched or torn tendons

Damage or inflammation of the posterior tibial tendon (PTT), which connects from your lower leg, along your ankle, and to the middle of the arch

Broken or dislocated bones

Some health conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis

Nerve problems

Other factors that can increase your risk include:

Obesity
Diabetes
Aging
Pregnancy
Symptoms of Flat Feet and Fallen Arches

Many people have flat feet -- and notice no problems and require no treatment. But others may experience the following symptoms:

Feet tire easily
Painful or achy feet, especially in the areas of the arches and heels

The inside bottom of your feet become swollen

Foot movement, such as standing on your toes, is difficult

Back and leg pain

If you notice any of these symptoms, it's time for a trip to the doctor.

Diagnosing Flat Feet and Fallen Arches

Your doctor examines your feet to determine two things:

Whether you have flat feet
The cause(s)
An exam may include these steps:

Checking your health history for evidence of illnesses or injuries that could be linked to flat feet or fallen arches
Looking at the soles of your shoes for unusual wear patterns
Observing the feet and legs as you stand and do simple movements, such as raising up on your toes
Testing the strength of muscles and tendons, including other tendons in the feet and legs, such as the Achilles tendon or the posterior tibial tendon
Taking X-rays or an MRI of your feet

This and MORE here: http://bit.ly/JWSJ0l

05/08/2021

Bruxism
Definition By Mayo Clinic Staff

Bruxism (BRUK-siz-um) is a condition in which you grind, gnash or clench your teeth. If you have bruxism, you may unconsciously clench your teeth together during the day or grind them at night, which is called sleep bruxism.

Bruxism may be mild and may not even require treatment. However, it can be frequent and severe enough to lead to jaw disorders, headaches, damaged teeth and other problems. Because you may have sleep bruxism and be unaware of it until complications develop, it's important to know the signs and symptoms of bruxism and to seek regular dental care.

Signs and symptoms of bruxism may include:

Teeth grinding or clenching, which may be loud enough to awaken your sleep partner
Teeth that are worn down, flattened, fractured or chipped
Worn tooth enamel, exposing deeper layers of your tooth
Increased tooth sensitivity
Jaw pain or tightness in your jaw muscles
Tired jaw muscles
Earache — because of severe jaw muscle contractions, not a problem with your ear
Headache
Chronic facial pain
Damage from chewing on the inside of your cheek
Indentations on your tongue

MUCH more info here: http://mayocl.in/1mDnTc2
Image by Haderer Muller

05/08/2021

Thyroid Gland by University of Maryland Medical Center

Anatomy of the thyroid gland:

The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck, below the larynx (voice box). The small, two-inch gland consists of two lobes, one on each side of the windpipe, connected by tissue called the isthmus.

The thyroid tissue is made up of two types of cells: follicular cells and parafollicular cells. Most of the thyroid tissue consists of the follicular cells, which secrete iodine-containing hormones called thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The parafollicular cells secrete the hormone calcitonin. The thyroid needs iodine to produce the hormones.

Functions of the thyroid gland:

The thyroid plays an important role in regulating the body's metabolism and calcium balance. The T4 and T3 hormones stimulate every tissue in the body to produce proteins and increase the amount of oxygen used by cells. The harder the cells work, the harder the organs work. The calcitonin hormone works together with the parathyroid hormone to regulate calcium levels in the body.

Levels of hormones secreted by the thyroid are controlled by the pituitary gland's thyroid-stimulating hormone, which in turn is controlled by the hypothalamus.

What is metabolism?

Metabolism is the chemical activity that occurs in cells, releasing energy from nutrients or using energy to create other substances, such as proteins. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a measurement of energy required to keep the body functioning at rest. Measured in calories, metabolic rates increase with exertion, stress, fear, and illness. More Here: http://bit.ly/1ntuHKS

05/08/2021

What is Fascia?
Fascia is tough connective tissue that creates a 3-dimensional web extending without interruption from head to toe. Fascia surrounds and infuses every muscle, bone, nerve, blood vessel, and organ, all the way down to the cellular level.

The fascial system affects every system and function in your body- musculoskeletal, neurological, metabolic, etc. The white, glistening fibers you see when you pull a piece of meat apart or when you pull chicken skin away is fascia.

What is Fascia made of ?
Fascia consists of a complex which has three parts:
1. Elastin fibers - This is the elastic and stretchable part of the complex.

2. Collagen fibers - These fibers are extremely tough and give support to the
structure.

3. Ground substance/matrix: A gelatinous like substance that transports metabolic
material throughout the body

What does fascia do?
The fascial system generally supports, stabilizes, and cushions. Fascia creates separation between vessels, organs, bones, and muscles. It creates space through which delicate nerves, blood vessels, and fluids can pass.

What are Fascial Restrictions?
In a healthy state, the collagen fibers wrap around the elastic fibers in a relaxed, wavy configuration. Trauma, repetitive motion, inflammation, or poor posture can cause the fascia to become solidified and shortened. These thickened areas are referred to as a fascial restriction. Fascial restrictions have the capacity of creating up to 2,000 pounds of pressure per square inch in a restricted area. That crushing pressure can compromise any physiological system in the body resulting in pain and dysfunction.

The fascia throughout the body is all interconnected like the yarn in a sweater or a complex spider web. A restriction in one area of the body creates tension throughout this web pulling on other distant structures. This explains why some people may have pain that appears unrelated to their original injury. Furthermore, myofascial restrictions do not show up on common standardized tests such as x-rays, MRI, CAT scans, etc.

Fascial restrictions can pull the body out of its normal alignment, compressing joint surfaces and bulging disks, resulting in pain, loss of motion, and weakness.

Info collected from Spine - Health, Mayo Clinic, NIH & Medterms
Art by Dan Beckemeyer

05/08/2021

Think of Your Poor Feet
By Laurie Tarkin, New York Times

The average person walks the equivalent of three times around the Earth in a lifetime. That is enormous wear and tear on the 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles that make up the foot.

In a recent survey for the American Podiatric Medical Association, 53 percent of respondents reported foot pain so severe that it hampered their daily function. On average, people develop pain in their 60s, but it can start as early as the 20s and 30s. Yet, except for women who get regular pedicures, most people don’t take much care of their feet. Full article here: http://nyti.ms/1uAQ0il

04/26/2021

Everybody knows that some organs in the human body are necessary for survival: you need your brain, your heart, your lungs, your kidneys...

KIDNEYS? Absolutely. Even though you won't find a Valentine's Day card with a kidney on the cover, the kidneys are every bit as important as the heart. You need at least one kidney to live!

Kidneys normally come in pairs. If you've ever seen a kidney bean, then you have a pretty good idea what the kidneys look like. Each kidney is about 5 inches (about 13 centimeters) long and about 3 inches (about 8 centimeters) wide — about the size of a computer mouse.

To locate your kidneys, put your hands on your hips, then slide your hands up until you can feel your ribs. Now if you put your thumbs on your back, you will know where your kidneys are. You can't feel them, but they are there. Read on to find out more about the cool kidneys.

Cleaning Up
One of the main jobs of the kidneys is to filter the waste out of the blood. How does the waste get in your blood? Well, your blood delivers nutrients to your body. Chemical reactions occur in the cells of your body to break down the nutrients. Some of the waste is the result of these chemical reactions. Some is just stuff your body doesn't need because it already has enough. The waste has to go somewhere; this is where the kidneys come in.

First, blood is carried into the kidneys by the renal artery (anything in the body related to the kidneys is called "renal"). The average person has 1 to 1½ gallons of blood circulating through his or her body. The kidneys filter that blood as many as 400 times a day! More than 1 million tiny filters inside the kidneys remove the waste. These filters, called nephrons (say: NEH-fronz), are so small you can see them only with a high-powered microscope.

The Path of P*e
The waste that is collected combines with water (which is also filtered out of the kidneys) to make urine (p*e). As each kidney makes urine, the urine slides down a long tube called the ureter (say: yu-REE-ter) and collects in the bladder, a storage sac that holds the urine. When the bladder is about halfway full, your body tells you to go to the bathroom. When you p*e, the urine goes from the bladder down another tube called the urethra (say: yu-REE-thruh) and out of your body.

The kidneys, the bladder, and their tubes are called the urinary system. Here's a list of all of the parts of the urinary system:
• the kidneys: filters that take the waste out of the blood and make urine
• the ureters: tubes that carry the urine from each kidney to the bladder
• the bladder: a bag that collects the urine
• the urethra: a tube that carries the urine from the bladder out of the body

Keeping a Balance
The kidneys also balance the volume of fluids and minerals in the body. This balance in the body is called homeostasis (say: HOH-mee-oh-STAY-sus).

If you put all of the water that you take in on one side of a scale and all of the water your body gets rid of on the other side of a scale, the sides of the scale would be balanced. Your body gets water when you drink it or other liquids. You also get water from some foods, like fruits and vegetables.
Water leaves your body in several ways. It comes out of your skin when you sweat, out of your mouth when you breathe, and out of your urethra in urine when you go to the bathroom. There is also water in your bowel movements (p**p).

When you feel thirsty, your brain is telling you to get more fluids to keep your body as balanced as possible. If you don't have enough fluids in your body, the brain communicates with the kidneys by sending out a hormone that tells the kidneys to hold on to some fluids. When you drink more, this hormone level goes down, and the kidneys will let go of more fluids.

You might notice that sometimes your urine is darker in color than other times. Remember, urine is made up of water plus the waste that is filtered out of the blood. If you don't take in a lot of fluids or if you're exercising and sweating a lot, your urine has less water in it and it appears darker. If you're drinking lots of fluids, the extra fluid comes out in your urine, and it will be lighter.

What Else Do Kidneys Do?
Kidneys are always busy. Besides filtering the blood and balancing fluids every second during the day, the kidneys constantly react to hormones that the brain sends them. Kidneys even make some of their own hormones. For example, the kidneys produce a hormone that tells the body to make red blood cells.

By KidsHealth & Yamini Durani, MD
Art by Danny Quirk Artwork

03/06/2021

03/06/2021

The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The aorta begins at the top of the left ventricle, the heart's muscular pumping chamber. The heart pumps blood from the left ventricle into the aorta through the aortic valve. Three leaflets on the aortic valve open and close with each heartbeat to allow one-way flow of blood.
The aorta is a tube about a foot long and just over an inch in diameter. The aorta is divided into four sections:
• The ascending aorta rises up from the heart and is about 2 inches long. The coronary arteries branch off the ascending aorta to supply the heart with blood.
• The aortic arch curves over the heart, giving rise to branches that bring blood to the head, neck, and arms.
• The descending thoracic aorta travels down through the chest. Its small branches supply blood to the ribs and some chest structures.
• The abdominal aorta begins at the diaphragm, splitting to become the paired iliac arteries in the lower abdomen. Most of the major organs receive blood from branches of the abdominal aorta.
Like all arteries, the aorta's wall has several layers:
• The intima, the innermost layer, provides a smooth surface for blood to flow across.
• The media, the middle layer with muscle and elastic fibers, allows the aorta to expand and contract with each heartbeat.
• The adventitia, the outer layer, provides additional support and structure to the aorta.

03/05/2021

https://m.facebook.com/147107135344108/photos/a.147110562010432/626806710707479/?type=3

The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The aorta begins at the top of the left ventricle, the heart's muscular pumping chamber. The heart pumps blood from the left ventricle into the aorta through the aortic valve. Three leaflets on the aortic valve open and close with each heartbeat to allow one-way flow of blood.
The aorta is a tube about a foot long and just over an inch in diameter. The aorta is divided into four sections:
• The ascending aorta rises up from the heart and is about 2 inches long. The coronary arteries branch off the ascending aorta to supply the heart with blood.
• The aortic arch curves over the heart, giving rise to branches that bring blood to the head, neck, and arms.
• The descending thoracic aorta travels down through the chest. Its small branches supply blood to the ribs and some chest structures.
• The abdominal aorta begins at the diaphragm, splitting to become the paired iliac arteries in the lower abdomen. Most of the major organs receive blood from branches of the abdominal aorta.
Like all arteries, the aorta's wall has several layers:
• The intima, the innermost layer, provides a smooth surface for blood to flow across.
• The media, the middle layer with muscle and elastic fibers, allows the aorta to expand and contract with each heartbeat.
• The adventitia, the outer layer, provides additional support and structure to the aorta.

12/08/2020

The neural pathway that controls the reflexes occurs through the reflex arc. Most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain but synapse in the spinal cord. This allows for faster reflex actions to occur by activating spinal motor neurons without the delay of routing signals through the brain.

12/08/2020

Four strategies typically used to perform abdominal strengthening exercises.

12/08/2020

12/08/2020

12/08/2020

09/24/2020

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157214561325899&id=619145898

09/24/2020

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157214562240899&id=619145898

08/18/2020

Fibromyalgia is a common health problem that causes widespread pain and tenderness (sensitive to touch). The pain and tenderness tend to come and go, and move about the body. Most often, people with this chronic (long-term) illness are fatigued (very tired) and have sleep problems. It can be hard to diagnose fibromyalgia.

FAST FACTS
Fibromyalgia affects two to four percent of people, mostly women.

Doctors diagnose fibromyalgia based on all the patient's relevant symptoms (what you feel), no longer just on the number of tender points.

There is no test to detect this disease, but you may need lab tests or X-rays to rule out other health problems.

Though there is no cure, medications can relieve symptoms.

Patients also may feel better with proper self-care, such as exercise and getting enough sleep.

WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic health problem that causes pain all over the body and other symptoms. Other symptoms that patients most often have are:

Tenderness to touch or pressure affecting joints and muscles

Fatigue

Sleep problems (waking up unrefreshed)

Problems with memory or thinking clearly

Some patients also may have:

Depression or anxiety

Migraine or tension headaches

Digestive problems: irritable bowel syndrome (commonly called IBS) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (often referred to as GERD)

Irritable or overactive bladder

Pelvic pain

Temporomandibular disorder—often called TMJ (a set of symptoms including face or jaw pain, jaw clicking and ringing in the ears)

Symptoms of fibromyalgia and its related problems can vary in intensity, and will wax and wane over time. Stress often worsens the symptoms.

WHAT CAUSES FIBROMYALGIA?
The causes of fibromyalgia are unclear. They may be different in different people. Fibromyalgia may run in families. There likely are certain genes that can make people more prone to getting fibromyalgia and the other health problems that can occur with it. Genes alone, though, do not cause fibromyalgia.

There is most often some triggering factor that sets off fibromyalgia. It may be spine problems, arthritis, injury, or other type of physical stress. Emotional stress also may trigger this illness. The result is a change in the way the body "talks" with the spinal cord and brain. Levels of brain chemicals and proteins may change. For the person with fibromyalgia, it is as though the "volume control" is turned up too high in the brain's pain processing centers.

WHO GETS FIBROMYALGIA?
Fibromyalgia is most common in women, though it can occur in men. It most often starts in middle adulthood, but can occur in the teen years and in old age. Younger children can also develop widespread body pain and fatigue.

You are at higher risk for fibromyalgia if you have a rheumatic disease (health problem that affects the joints, muscles and bones). These include osteoarthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis.

HOW IS FIBROMYALGIA DIAGNOSED?
A doctor will suspect fibromyalgia based on your symptoms. Doctors used to require that you have tenderness to pressure or tender points at a specific number of certain spots before saying you have fibromyalgia. This is no longer the case. Your doctor may still look for tender points, but they are not required to make the diagnosis (see the Box). A physical exam can be helpful to detect tenderness and to exclude other causes of muscle pain.

There are no diagnostic tests (such as X-rays or blood tests) for this problem. Yet, you may need tests to rule out another health problem that can be confused with fibromyalgia.

Because widespread pain is the main feature of fibromyalgia, health care providers will ask you to describe your pain. This may help tell the difference between fibromyalgia and other diseases with similar symptoms. For instance, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) and polymyalgia rheumatica sometimes mimic fibromyalgia. Yet, certain blood tests can tell if you have either of these problems. Sometimes, fibromyalgia is confused with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. But, again, there is a difference in the symptoms, physical findings and blood tests that will help your health care provider detect these health problems. Unlike fibromyalgia, these rheumatic diseases cause inflammation in the joints and tissues.

Criteria Needed for a Fibromyalgia Diagnosis

1. Pain and symptoms over the past week, based on the total of:

Number of painful areas out of 18 parts of the body (see image)

Plus level of severity of these symptoms:

Fatigue

Waking unrefreshed

Cognitive (memory or thought) problems

Plus number of other general physical symptoms:

2. Symptoms lasting at least three months at a similar level

3. No other health problem that would explain the pain and other symptoms

Source: American College of Rheumatology, 2010

08/17/2020

How To Check Your Pulse by Medical News Today

Your pulse, pulse rate or heart rate refer to how many times your heart beats per minute or a specific unit of time - how many contractions occur in the heart's ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart).

What is the difference between your pulse and your heart rate?

Heart rate refers to the heart, how many times it contracts in a given time.

Pulse (pulse rate) refers to the artery you are checking with your finger(s), how many times it bulges when there is a gush surge.

The figure for heart rate and pulse rate is the nearly always same (except in certain medical conditions), because a bulge in the artery is caused by the heart contracting and pushing blood out.

A person's heart rate varies depending on what they are doing - it is slower when they are sleeping and faster when exercising.
Finding your pulse

Your pulse can be found where an artery passes close to the skin, such as your neck or wrist.

How to find your pulse in your wrist:
Hold one of your hands out with the palm facing upwards and the elbow slightly bent

Place your index (first) and middle fingers of your other hand on the inside of your wrist, just below the base of your thumb

Press the two fingers lightly on your skin until you feel your pulse

If you feel nothing, either press harder or search with your fingers for the artery and press again

Do not press your thumb on your wrist because it has its own pulse, an artery goes through it

Count how many beats there are over a 20-second period and then multiply the total by 3, which will give you your heart rate (per minute). Some people prefer to continue for thirty seconds and then multiply by 2 or to count for a whole minute for better accuracy

Your resting rate - this is your heartbeat (per minute) after you have been resting (sitting or lying still) for ten minutes.

Finding your pulse on your neck (carotid artery)

You can also find your pulse by pressing the same two fingers on the side of your neck (carotid artery), beside your Adam's apple in the hollow area. If you are over 65 be careful you do not press too hard; there is a risk of becoming lightheaded.

Other ways of checking your pulse
The popliteal artery - behind the knee

The abdominal aorta - over the abdomen

The apex of the heart - can be felt if you place your hand/fingers on your chest

The basilar artery - close to the ear

The brachial artery - inside the elbow or under the biceps

The dorsalis pedis - the middle of dorsum of the foot (the back, or upper surface, of the foot)

The femoral artery - in the groin

The posterior tibial artery - the ankle joint

The superficial temporal artery - the temple

More Info here: http://bit.ly/14JmJPD

What is a normal resting pulse rate (heart rate)?

For a healthy human being, aged at least 18 years, anything between 60 and 100 beats per minutes is usually considered as a normal resting heart rate.

Fit people tend to have a slower heart rate than unfit individuals. Some Olympic athletes have been known to have a resting heart rate of 40 bmp (beats per minute). In fact, a resting heart rate of 29 bpm was once recorded with Miguel Indurain, a champion cyclist.

The following are ideal normal heart rates in bpm:
According to the National Institutes of Health, USA

Newborns (0 to 3 months) - 100 to 150
Infants (3 to 6 months) - 90 to 120
Infants (6 to 12 months) - 80 to 120
Children (1 to 10 years) - 70 to 130
People over 10 years - 60 to 100
Well trained adult athletes - 40 to 60

According to the National Health Service, UK

Newborns (0 to 1 month) - 120 to 160
Infants (1 to 12 months) - 80 to 140
Babies/toddlers (1 to 2 years) - 80 to 130
Toddlers/young children (2 to 6 years) - 75 to 120
Children (7 to 12 years) - 75 to 110
Adults aged (18+ years) - 60 to 100
Adult athletes - 40 to 60

08/17/2020

The need for connection is more than a feeling, it’s hard science.

08/17/2020

The Mawson study is a groundbreaking study of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated American children that shows more chronic illness among vaccinated children.

08/16/2020

Ascorbate (AscH−) functions as a versatile reducing agent. At pharmacological doses (P-AscH−; [plasma AscH−] ≥≈20mM), achievable through intravenous d…

08/16/2020

A recent study published in the European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology revealed that stevia, a sweetener and sugar substitute, has been found to terminate late state or chronic Lyme disease.

08/05/2020

Facts About Restless Legs Syndrome
By Amanda MacMillan

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a real medical condition—but its funny name and strange-sounding symptoms have stirred up controversy. Some people question everything from the criteria used to diagnose it to the medications used to treat it.

Still, studies have found that about 7% of the population suffers from symptoms such as creepy-crawly feelings in their legs that interrupt sleep. Here are 12 facts you should know about RLS.

RLS legs don't move involuntarily:
RLS is characterized by sensations often described as itching, tingling, pulling, crawling, or cramping. These can cause a strong urge to get up and walk around, but people are always in control of their movements, says Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles.

"The feeling drives them nuts, so they have to get out of bed or out of their chair and walk around," Dr. Tagliati says.

People with involuntary leg movements may have another condition called periodic limb movement disorder. Many people with RLS also have this disorder.

RLS is more common during pregnancy:
For reasons that aren't completely understood, pregnant women sometimes experience RLS symptoms that go away after they give birth. One possible explanation, Dr. Tagliati says, is that pregnancy is often associated with iron deficiency, and low iron levels are a contributing factor in some RLS cases.

A 2010 study found that women who suffer from RLS during one pregnancy are at a higher risk of having symptoms during future pregnancies, or of developing a chronic form of RLS later on.

Supplements can help:
Medications aren't the only treatment for restless legs. "Every time someone comes into my clinic complaining of something that may sound like restless legs, we check their iron," says Dr. Tagliati, who has received speaking fees from a company that makes RLS drugs. "If they're low, we treat it with supplementation."

Restoring iron levels in the body also can help restore dopamine in the brain, experts believe, which may help reduce RLS symptoms.

Folate and magnesium supplements may also relieve RLS symptoms.

Risk increases with age:
RLS can strike at any age, but it is more common in people 65 and older.

Symptoms typically get worse as you get older; many people with the condition will suffer from daily symptoms and significant sleep interruptions after age 50.

Exercise can curb symptoms:
Many people find that regular exercise helps keep RLS under control, or that the condition acts up more on days when they haven't moved around much.

Gentle stretching and massage may also help, either before bed or when symptoms start. Too much or too intense exercise, however, can make RLS worse.

RLS is not trivial:
People who don't have RLS have a hard time understanding what it feels like—and how much the sensations can disrupt daily (and nightly) life. RLS can cause serious sleep deprivation, which in turn may cause other health problems.

Studies have also linked RLS to high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction, possibly due to chronically interrupted sleep or factors involving dopamine in the brain.

RLS isn't hard to diagnose:
There isn't a blood test for RLS, but that doesn't fuzzy science is used to diagnose it.

There are four necessary criteria for people to be diagnosed with RLS: an urge to move their legs, usually because of uncomfortable tingling or crawling sensations; the urge must begin or get worse during periods of rest or inactivity; the sensations are partially or totally relieved by movement; and the sensations and the urge to move are worse in the evening or at night.

Using these criteria, it can be a straightforward diagnosis if your doctor is familiar with the condition. Your doctor may, however, order blood and other tests to look for underlying causes of RLS, such as iron deficiency.

RLS may be genetic:
In 2007, researchers in Europe and at Emory University, in Atlanta, discovered a gene variant that doubled a person's risk of developing RLS. In 2011, an international team of scientists discovered two genetic regions that seem to play a role as well.

That RLS often runs in families and appears to be most prevalent among people of Western European descent has long hinted at a genetic component of the condition.

Symptoms occur at night:
RLS follows a circadian rhythm, getting worse at night as the body and brain begin to relax and prepare for sleep.

Doctors believe this is due to dopamine that follows the body's natural sleep-wake cycle, as well as fewer mental distractions at night.

Some RLS patients try to schedule meetings (or naps) during the early part of the day because sitting for long periods of time is difficult later in the day. Others say that keeping busy with mentally stimulating activities at night helps relieve their symptoms.

RLS isn't a sign of Parkinson's disease:
Because the drugs used to treat RLS often are used for Parkinson's disease, it's easy for people to assume that the two disorders are somehow related, Dr. Tagliati says.

"I don't think I've ever seen any of my RLS patients develop Parkinson's, and we know that's not how Parkinson's starts," he says.

A 2011 Norwegian study found that people with early Parkinson's disease were no more likely to have RLS symptoms than people without Parkinson's disease.

Art by Call0ps
From Health.com